Cross posting to encourage interest:
Last night was an incredible show; the celebration of close to 50 years of music by Michael Schenker, and a lot of old friends. To understand the breadth of it, here’s last night’s show by the numbers:
2:45 – the time of the set; by far the longest I’ve ever seen outside an arena or stadium. Like, 45 minutes longer. And it just flew by.
0 – the number of opening acts. When you play for almost 3 hours, and open with two power house songs (Holiday and Doctor, Doctor), you’re less concerned about the audience getting warmed up.
31 songs played - spanning his entire career, including stuff on the upcoming release.
6 different bands represented (The Scorpions, UFO, Michael Schenker Group, McAuley Schenker Group, Temple of Rock, and the new Michael Schenker Fest line up)
4 different vocalists – Gary Barden (of MSG), Graham Bonnet (also of MSG), Robin McAuley (of the other MSG), and Doogie White (Temple of Rock). Bonnet only did a couple of songs; McAuley seemed to be both the best showman and have the best wind of the 4 of them. White really reminded me of Meat Loaf, and Barden kind of reminded me of Ted Nugent. There were several songs where more than one of them were on stage, and a few where they all were. Their harmonies weren’t great, but still fun. And when they sang their own material, you could see how each of them brought different nuances / flavor to Michael’s guitar sound.
As for Michael himself, the comparison that came to mind almost immediately was John 5, Rob Zombie’s guitarist. It was obvious that Michael lives to play, and takes real joy in it. And thanks to his ungodly anti-aging genetics, it was really easy to still see the 17 year old kid inside him. Playing wise, he was really on point, and even though he did some instrumentals (Coast to Coast, Captain Nemo), it was only during the solo in Rock Bottom where I thought it was less interesting (and I’ve never liked that solo)
The only downsides to the show? They only played the first half of Holiday (choosing not to play the riff heavy second part), and some of Michaels intros to the Scorpions and UFO material felt a little like digs at his former bands. But those are really small nits to pick.
If you have any interest in anything Schenker related, I strongly encourage you to go to this. It might be a once in a lifetime thing, because in anything but a solo tour setting, you’re not going to get this much music from them.
Set List spoilered for a lot of length
Holiday
Doctor Doctor
Into the Arena
Are You Ready to Rock
Attack of the Mad Axeman
Rock My Nights Away
Messin' Around
Armed and Ready
Coast to Coast
Dancer
Searching for a Reason
Desert Song
Night Moods
Assault Attack
Warrior
Captain Nemo
Bad Boys
Save Yourself
Anytime
Heart and Soul
Love Is Not a Game
Vigilante Man
Lord of the Lost and Lonely
The Girl with the Stars in Her Eyes
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Take Me to the Church
Live and Let Live
Rock Bottom
ENCORE:
Shoot Shoot
Natural Thing
Lights Out